By Lachlan Onions
NORTH SPORTSMAN’S 9/131 d MIL LEL 7/49
THE encounter between first and fourth on the ladder saw the Tigers claim a comfortable victory at Marist Park in Round 6 of the South East Female Cricket League.
North batted first and it was Laura Chester who made her presence felt with the bat and scored the first half-century of the season.
Chester hit five 4’s and four 6’s on the way to 59 before she was eventually dismissed by Lydia Megaw.
For the majority of players, runs were hard to come by and Emma Braun was the next best with the bat and scored 13 runs before she was bowled by Jennifer Peterson.
Peterson put in a strong performance with the ball and took 2/7 off two overs, while Megaw claimed figures of 2/10 off 3.5 overs at an economy rate of 2.85 runs per over.
After the hosts posted a strong score of 131, it was always going to be difficult for Mil Lel but Megaw looked to take the game on as she hit two 4’s and six before she was run out by Kirra Schultz for 15.
The wicket was a major blow for Mil Lel as it was unable to match the Tigers’ impressive run rate and wickets began to fall thick and fast.
Shortly after Megaw’s departure, Georgia Little was caught by Chester off Alysha Coon’s bowling to make it 2/21.
Fiona Young then made it 3/23 when she bowled Peterson and the visitors were no match for the quality of the Tigers as they eventually succumbed to an 82-run loss.
North had five players take wickets and six bowl at an economy rate of less than two runs an over.
Layla McPherson bowled two overs and ended with figures of 1/1, while Schultz’s two overs saw her take one wicket for two runs.
NARACOORTE 2/66 d BORDERTOWN 4/65
The long-awaited clash between Naracoorte and Bordertown ended in somewhat of a fizzer as the visitors chased down the total set by Bordertown in 10.1 overs.
Naracoorte won the toss and elected to bowl first and the visitors gave absolutely nothing away with the ball and dried up the runs as often as possible.
Ella Boston claimed the first wicket of the game when she bowled Hayley Twigden for six runs in the fourth over.
Courtney Twigden was then dismissed in the sixth over and the pressure was beginning to rise.
The sixth over set the tone for the rest of the inning as Sharnna Mansell bowled a wicket-maiden.
Mansell was unforgiving with the ball and claimed her second wicket two overs later when she bowled Ashlyn Knauerhase.
Emily Schutz was the pick of the batters and made it to the end of the innings unbeaten on 28 off 52 balls.
Mansell boasted the best figures with the ball for Naracoorte with 2/4 off three overs, while Kathryn Vine took 1/2 off two overs.
After Bordertown was restricted to just 65 runs, Naracoorte took control of the game early and scored 27 runs off the first four overs.
Schutz bowled Lauren Smart for 11 runs in the fifth over but the dismissal brought Vine to the crease, who quashed any hopes the hosts had of claiming a result.
Vine scored 30 runs at a strike-rate of 176.47 in a stint which included four 4’s and a maximum before she was dismissed by Emma Twigden.
However, the damage had already been done and by the time Mansell went out to the middle, Naracoorte needed just five runs for victory with 65 balls left.
At the beginning of the 11th over, the visitors reached their target and reduced the gap between these two sides on the ladder.
After four games played, Naracoorte and Bordertown are only separated by net run rate.
